UAE

The UAE Interior Ministry has extended its condolences to the families of the victims who are of various Asian nationalities, Al Salem Al Tunaiji, Director General of the Ministry's federal operations, said in a tweet on Friday. Al Tunaiji added that 80 per cent of those who were evacuated have returned to their homes, noting the rescue operations are still ongoing in the affected three Emirates.

It will be called I2U2 -- for India and Israel whose names begin with the letter "I" and the US and the UAE that begin with the letter "U" -- and will be focussed on West Asia. It will be launched during Biden's visit to Israel, his first leg of his maiden trip as President to West Asia from July 13 to 16. He will also visit West Bank, home to the Palestinian Authority, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will meet around a dozen regional leaders.

Swami Brahmaviharidas, head of the upcoming mandir, and Swami Akshaymunidas Swami who oversees international mandir construction, graced this event, along with over 500 distinguished guests of the UAE including the Ambassador of India to the UAE His Excellency Sunjay Sudhir, community leaders and members of the congregation. The excitement of the architects, technical consultants, community officials and volunteers who attended this event was palpable.

The 61-year-old will be the country's third president, after succeeding Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who passed away on Friday at the age of 73, reports Khaleej Times. Sheikh Mohamed, who is also the Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was elected by the UAE's Federal Supreme Council.

The ministry also confirmed there will be 40 days of official mourning with flags across the UAE drawn at half-mast, and the work of all UAE ministries at the federal and local levels, as well as those of the private sector, will also be suspended for three days, beginning Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

It has updated and simplified the golden residence rules which will ultimately result in creating more jobs and a resultant pick-up in housing demand from the expats in the country. Additionally, all entry visas are now available for single and multiple entries to the UAE visitors. Valid for 60 days from their issuance date, these visas can be renewed further for similar period. Such provisions have boosted the confidence of the expats with high sense of stability, attracting more and more families and individuals to move to Dubai which will ultimately create more demand for housing units.

Both sides exchanged views on areas of priority during their ongoing UNSC tenure. In keeping with their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, they agreed to work closely together on key issues on the UNSC agenda, in particular on their shared commitment to reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism.

The UAE protested the "attacks on civilians and incursions into holy places that resulted in the injury of a number of civilians," the statement was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Al Hashimy stressed the need to immediately stop these events, provide full protection for worshipers, respect the right of Palestinians to practice their religious rites, and halt any practices that violate the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, it added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the I2-U2 moniker on Sunday for the four-member grouping that was launched last October at a virtual meeting comprising himself, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Ministers Yair Lapid of Israel and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE. I2-U2 even has a populist ring rhyming with R2-D2, a robot in the Star Wars movie franchise.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, who is on his maiden visit to the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday held talks with the UAE Justice Minister and the head of the Emirates Supreme Court. The discussion was focused on the Indian expatriates in the Gulf country and for closer judicial cooperation between the two nations.